A dramatic improvement on defense has helped propel Silverton's football team to a 5-0 start.
For the fifth consecutive game, the Foxes' first-string defense did not allow a point in a 40-14 win at Corvallis on Thursday. They are giving up 8.4 points per game, down from 33.5 last season, when they finished 7-4 and lost in the state quarterfinals.
Coach Dan Lever, who left Tualatin to take over the team last season after the Foxes won the 5A title in 2021, praised his players for their offseason commitment.
“Our kids are really seeing the results transfer from their hard work, starting in January,” said Lever, whose team is No. 2 in the OSAAtoday 5A coaches poll. “Last year, we graduated that stellar senior class so we were super young. Our youth and inexperience last year has become experience this year.”
Lever said the front four of senior Xavier Orozco and juniors Eli Willis, Brash Henderson and Brody Kuenzi has been “outstanding.” The 6-0, 225-pound Orozco, the Mid-Willamette Conference defensive lineman of the year in 2022, is setting the tone.
“He's definitely the heart and soul of it,” Lever said of Orozco, who missed Thursday's game with an injury but is expected back soon. “He's an unbelievable leader and worker, and it's just become infectious.”
Junior linebacker Daniel Kuenzi (6-1, 185) is leading the team in tackles with more than 10 per game. Senior defensive backs Cohen Mulick, Cade Wynn, Elijah Howard and David Hari and senior linebacker Diego Flores also have been solid.
Silverton's offense is averaging 43.2 points per game behind junior quarterback Sawyer Teeney, a second-year starter who has thrown eight touchdown passes and run for four scores. He is maturing in the spread offense that Lever installed last season.
“He had a great year as a sophomore and he's just building upon last year,” Lever said of Teeney, who was 14 for 18 for 260 yards and ran for a touchdown Thursday. “He's just gotten more comfortable in our system. I wouldn't say our system for quarterbacks is an easy thing. We have high expectations of those guys to make a lot of checks at the line of scrimmage, and he's doing a great job.”
Senior Brody Sullivan ran for 368 yards and five touchdowns through the first four games. But the 6-0, 220-pound Flores stood out Thursday, rushing for 150 yards and five touchdowns on 16 carries.
“He's our bruiser, but he looked pretty good in the open field,” Lever said.
The Foxes (5-0, 5-0) are tied for first place in the Mid-Willamette with No. 3 West Albany (5-0, 5-0). Silverton plays at West Albany in Week 8.
Silverton has not had a losing season since 2010. Lever said he is “carrying the torch” for his predecessors, John Mannion (2010-16) and Josh Craig (2017-21).
'I'm really just trying to keep it going,” Lever said. “This is the best football town in the state. There is an unbelievable community, administration and support here.”
More donuts for Bowmen
Sherwood's defense recorded its fourth consecutive shutout Friday with its most dominant performance yet.
In a 52-0 home win over Century, the No. 5 Bowmen (5-0) held the Jaguars to minus-34 total yards and one first down. Sherwood had nine sacks, getting two from senior linebacker Brayden Klostreich, and seven tackles for loss, two by senior safety Kaleo Hall.
Coach Mark Gribble credited defensive coordinator Rich Hannan for how the defense has meshed.
“He has put a great system in place for this group of kids,” Gribble said. “Top to bottom, the kids are just swarming, flying to the ball, and are really locked in on their little piece of it. It's been pretty fun to watch.”
After opening with a 34-21 win at West Salem, Sherwood has blanked Clackamas, Summit, Westview and Century. The Bowmen had two goal-line stands against Summit and one against Westview.
“We give up ground, give up ground, then all of the sudden our kids are like, 'Nope, we're just going to buckle down,'” Gribble said of his defense, which is awarded with donuts for shutouts.
Sherwood brought back four starters – senior cornerbacks Ojani Gray and Jaylan Moore, senior free safety Evan Morris and senior linebacker Keaten Fried – from last season, when it gave up 21.1 points per game. The Bowmen expected to be improved on defense, but Gribble admits the unit has been “a pleasant surprise.”
“I knew we were loaded in the secondary with a lot of experienced guys,” Gribble said. “They're very dynamic back there and it allows us the ability to morph and manipulate and be super aggressive. Rich puts our kids in a great situation.”
Fried, the Pacific Conference defensive player of the year last season, is a force at linebacker. The defensive line has been stout with 6-4, 335-pound junior tackle Suliasi Laulaupea'alu and senior defensive end Trevyn Fischer (6-2, 215).
“He has proven this year to be almost unblockable,” Gribble said of Fischer. “We're getting messages from opposing coaches saying, 'That kid's a dude.'”
Sherwood's offense also excelled in Friday's conference opener. Morris caught two touchdown passes from senior Kasen Covert and junior Wilson Medina rushed for two scores.
McNabb gets win No. 200
Scappoose coach Sean McNabb reached a milestone Thursday, recording his 200th victory when the 4A No. 2 Indians (5-0) rolled to a 42-14 win at Milwaukie in a 4A Special District 1 game.
McNabb is 200-73 in 25 seasons at Scappoose, ranking him No. 28 all-time in the state. The 1983 Scappoose graduate guided the Indians to state titles in 2000, 2001 and 2002.
McNabb reflected on his tenure as head coach, which started in 1999 after he spent six seasons as an assistant in the program under Keith Eeds.
“It just takes me back to so many memories of some of the coaches I worked with in my first years, and a lot of those players,” he said. “It's just been a fantastic run. I think about all the support we've had here at Scappoose. You couldn't do it without having great staff, great coaches.
“It's a really cool feeling, a humbling feeling. But it's also a feeling of, I guess I've been doing it a while.”
McNabb, a member of Scappoose's baseball state title team in 1982, played baseball at Lane Community College and football at Western Oregon. He was a player-coach in Scotland and served as a graduate assistant at Western Oregon before landing on the staff at Eatonville (Wash.) High School, where he learned the spread offense under coach Steve Gervais.
Scappoose had never won a title until the 2000 team, led by future NFL quarterback Derek Anderson, started a three-peat. The Indians won the title the next two years behind quarterback Kenny Wagner.
Scappoose has come close to another title in the last decade, losing in the semifinals in 2014, the championship game in 2015 and the semifinals last year. This year's team appears to have a chance to make another run.
“We have some good kids. We'll see how it goes,” said McNabb, who is co-coaching the team the last two seasons with defensive coordinator Joe Nowlin. “We don't have a lot of depth. A lot of guys are playing both ways. But I love this group. There are guys that surprise you every week because they definitely want to win.”
McNabb coached his three sons at Scappoose. Brennen, a senior receiver on the 2015 runner-up, is a first-year teacher at Rainier. Connor is a senior running back at Linfield and Luke is a redshirt freshman quarterback at Linfield.
The Indians routed Milwaukie as Max Nowlin completed 16 of 21 passes for 161 yards and three touchdowns, two to Eli Harrah. Cayden Baker rushed for three scores.
Valenzuela leads Mountain View
The dynamic running of sophomore Angel Valenzuela and a suffocating defense has been a winning formula for 5A No. 4 Mountain View (5-0).
Mountain View added to its impressive start Friday with a 36-3 win at Caldera (3-2) in the Intermountain Conference opener. Valenzuela rushed for 268 yards and five touchdowns on 25 carries and the defense, which had posted three consecutive shutouts, allowed only a field goal after the Cougars muffed a punt deep in their own end.
The 5-11, 190-pound Valenzuela has rushed for 986 yards and 15 touchdowns. He is the latest in a line of star Mountain View tailbacks that includes Tommy Hackenbruck (1999), Austin Sears (2010), Dimitri Dillard (2011), Kyler Ayers (2012), Jonas Larson (2017-18) and Keenan Harpole (2019).
“He combines a lot of those qualities,” Mountain View coach Brian Crum said. “He's got the speed, he's got the vision, and the ability to make a guy miss. He's got the ability to be a physical runner and play over his pads and get through guys.”
Valenzuela dominated on the freshman team last year before being called up to the varsity at midseason.
“We got him 30 to 40 carries and he gained a lot of confidence,” Crum said. “This year we knew he was special.”
Crum said that Valenzuela isn't a stop-and-start runner like Larson, who had two 2,000-yard seasons. But Valenzuela can get downhill quickly and power through the defense.
“He gets north-south really well,” Crum said. “Angel is so good from zero to 10 yards. There's nobody that gets off the ball like he does. And he's relentless. He's probably more of a physical back than Jonas.”
Valenzuela is benefiting from an improved offensive line. Senior left tackle Kyler Effingham (6-2, 275) has led the way, averaging more than six pancake blocks per game.
“He's moving guys like we haven't had in a quite a while,” Crum said.
The defense is holding opponents to 4.6 points per game, down from 20.7 last year. The defensive front – which features senior end Eli Clason, senior tackle Jackson Hersch and junior tackle Garren White – is the heart of the unit. Senior outside linebacker Jake Lewis packs a wallop and 6-3 senior cornerback Ryder Minisce is locking down receivers.
The defense is thriving since coordinator Tanner Cook simplified the system, according to Crum.
“We felt like our kids were overthinking so much that we played slow,” Crum said. “He's done a great job of simplifying things so the kids can go play fast. And we've spent a ton of time on tackling this year.”
Loggers roll
When it comes to prolific rushing attacks, Scio has been among the best in Oregon history, boasting five of the 35 runners to surpass 4,000 career yards.
The Loggers have struggled to reach their high standards in recent seasons, but this year, they once again are chopping up defenses. On Friday, 3A No. 8 Scio rolled over visiting Taft 62-20 to improve to 5-0 for the first time since 2016.
Senior Bryan Parazoo rushed for 250 yards and four touchdowns on 20 carries and passed for a score as Scio racked up its most points since 2017, when it defeated Lakeview 68-31 in the playoffs.
The Loggers are averaging 48.8 points per game, up from 28.4 last year. It is their highest output since they set the 11-man state record with 59.7 points per game in 2015.
“I remember that Scio. That's remembering my childhood,” Parazoo said. “Seeing the Scio Loggers just go out there and kick butt, I'm just glad to bring that back.”
Senior Cody Roofener added two touchdown runs for Scio, which improved to 3-0 in Special District 2 to remain tied for first place with No. 5 Dayton and No. 10 Santiam Christian.
“Every game we're improving,” Roofener said.
Up next for the Loggers is a first-place showdown at Dayton, a team that defeated them 42-20 last year. Scio knows it must be on top of its game to compete with the Pirates, who have their own powerful running game.
“With Dayton, it's just deleting all the little mistakes that we had in this game and pushing past them,” Parazoo said. “Just tighten them up with those things and we'll be set.”
-- Jeremy McDonald contributed to this report
Other highlights from Week 5:
6A
No. 1 West Linn trailed 14-11 in the second quarter before pulling away to beat No. 4 Lake Oswego 49-14. Hunter Haines, Danny Wideman and Josiah Molden returned a kickoff, punt and interception for scores, respectively. … No. 3 Tualatin fell behind Lakeridge 17-0 in the second quarter but prevailed 31-24. Jayden Fortier's second touchdown run with 4:53 left in the game proved to be the difference for the Timberwolves, who also got a punt-return score from Matthew Eleweke. … South Medford rushed for 380 yards in beating Sprague 28-19. Kameron Rague (15 carries, 162 yards, two touchdowns) and Ryder Scheid (18 carries, 124 yards) led the way for the Panthers. Sprague's Kenya Johnson rushed for 163 yards on 22 carries. … Jesuit picked up its first win, dominating Aloha 70-0. Trey Cleeland passed for two touchdowns and Lonnie Burt ran for three scores for the Crusaders, who held Aloha to 54 total yards, including minus-34 rushing. …
Alex Ingalls threw two touchdown passes and Jordan Hicks ran for a score as Mountainside defeated Westview 27-6. The Mavericks scored the game's last 27 points after the Wildcats took a 6-0 lead on a 41-yard run by Heath Thompson. … Ben Schneider threw three touchdown passes in the second half as Oregon City came back from a 17-0 deficit to upend Tigard 28-24. Mitchell Johnson rushed for 121 yards and one touchdown on 25 carries. … Nelson topped district rival Clackamas 33-13, getting two touchdown runs from Eddy Keomany and an interception return for a score from Andre Miller. … Antoin Hawthorne had a kickoff-return touchdown for Grant in its 31-16 win over Jefferson. … North Medford smothered Grants Pass 41-0 as Traeger Healy completed 18 of 25 passes for 184 yards and three touchdowns, two to AJ Pugliano, and ran for a score. Tate Snyder had two interceptions for the Black Tornado. …Sunset rolled over Beaverton 42-0, forcing five turnovers and scoring all six touchdowns in the first half. Drew Nees completed 12 of 14 passes for 162 yards and three touchdowns, Owen Scholes rushed for 118 yards and one score on 11 carries and Justin Craigwell had two touchdown runs and two fumble recoveries. ...
Sheldon turned four Roseburg turnovers into points in the first half – including an interception return for a touchdown by Kerek Kato – on its way to a 50-12 win. Mana Tuioti ran for two touchdowns and caught one of Colby Parosa's two scoring passes. … Franklin trailed 14-6 at half before overcoming Lincoln 35-25. … Sandy got touchdown runs from Mason Culp, Caden McMahon and Simon Willis to drop Gresham 23-0. … South Salem's Athan Palmateer accounted for 434 yards in leading the Saxons past West Salem 48-21. Palmateer completed 29 of 36 passes for 299 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 135 yards and two scores on 14 carries. Esteban Mendez caught 10 passes for 115 yards and one score and Jacob Nemecek returned an interception 82 yards for a touchdown. ... Cru Newman threw three touchdown passes and Killian Sombe ran for two scores to help lead Central Catholic past Reynolds 55-6. Matix Carpenter had a sack and two tackles for loss.
5A
Hayden George caught touchdown passes of 85 and 74 yards from Brison Edwards to lead Lebanon past South Albany 14-3. South Albany had five turnovers, including a fumble at the Lebanon 3-yard line. … Dallas handled Woodburn 47-12 as Isaiah Mosley passed for three touchdowns and Eli Hess (15 carries, 110 yards) and Zayvian Webster (10 carries, 164 yards) each rushed for two scores. William Walker had two sacks and Steven Ward had 12 tackles, three for losses. … Joel Sanchez rushed for 307 yards and four touchdowns for McKay, which beat Crescent Valley 53-25. Raiders quarterback Rocco McClave completed 22 of 35 passes for 300 yards and four touchdowns. … Thurston defeated Springfield 34-13 in a crosstown rivalry game as Noah Blair completed 17 of 21 passes for 205 yards and four touchdowns and ran for a score. Springfield's Connor Dye rushed for 161 yards. …
Canby blasted Southridge 50-6 as Tyler Konold ran for two touchdowns and caught one of Kellen Oliver's three scoring passes. … Crater held off North Eugene 46-34 behind three touchdown runs from Valentin Rodriguez. Ben Higginson passed for two scores and ran for another. … Eagle Point led 39-0 at half and pasted Willamette 46-6. Bryton Livingston threw two touchdown passes to Easton Raber and ran for a score. Blane Bruner rushed for 130 yards and one score on 17 carries. … Summit torched Ridgeview 63-0 behind Jimmy Hughes, who passed for three touchdowns and ran for two scores. Sawyer Crocker had an interception, a blocked punt and a punt-return touchdown. Charlie Crowell caught two touchdown passes and Dylan Hughes ran for two scores. … Bend ground out a 19-3 win over Redmond, getting two touchdown runs from Uriel Valdez (98 rushing yards) and an interception-return score from Lucas Penfold.
4A
Mazama rushed for 469 yards in its 57-26 win over Ashland. Kristopher Baldwin (18 carries, 163 yards), Tyson Van Gastel (19 carries, 108 yards), Bodie Norlock (10 carries, 101 yards) and Triston Leach each ran for two touchdowns. Ashland's Jojo Harrower threw three touchdown passes, two to Gavin White. … Philomath's Rocco De La Rosa made a tackle on a two-point conversion attempt with 2:42 to preserve a 21-20 win over Stayton. The Warriors came back from a 14-0 deficit in the third quarter to win, getting a touchdown catch and two scoring runs from Kaden Muir, who ran for 127 yards on 17 carries. Hudson Hughes passed for two touchdowns and Tanner Starbuck ran for 147 yards and one score on 23 carries for Stayton. …
Ryder Jackson ran for four touchdowns in Seaside's 41-35 upset of Tillamook. … North Bend rallied from a 28-12 halftime deficit to defeat Santiam Christian 31-28. Shaun Wilder returned a kickoff for a touchdown for North Bend. … Molalla got its first victory over Estacada since 2015, bouncing back from down 14-7 to win 36-14. Mason King had two touchdown runs for Molalla. … Thaiden Cannin had a touchdown catch, a punt-return score and two interceptions for Pendleton in its 48-0 win over Madras. … Crook County stopped a two-point conversion attempt in overtime to knock off previously unbeaten Ontario 21-20. Luke Freauff ran for two touchdowns for the Cowboys. … Logan Whitlock ran for four touchdowns as Henley thumped Hidden Valley 35-0. Mark Carpenter grabbed his fifth interception of the season for the Hornets.
3A
Banks stuffed North Marion 35-0 as Ashton Crossen ran for 158 yards and two touchdowns on 14 carries and Kade Long passed for two scores. … Vale improved to 5-0 by stopping Burns 14-8. Kyle Schaffeld had 23 carries for 177 yards and Colten Stepleton passed for two touchdowns. … Dayton piled up 507 total yards to defeat Salem Academy 52-26. Zach Smith rushed for 324 yards and three touchdowns on 34 carries and had an interception. Morgan Gallagher had two tackles for loss and two forced fumbles. … Cascade Christian throttled Douglas 48-0 as Ashton Moody passed for three touchdowns and ran for a score. Caleb Scaglione had touchdown runs of 47 and 56 yards and Luke Wilson scored on a fumble return and a catch. …
Brookings-Harbor outlasted Phoenix 14-6 in overtime. Michael Varitek's 24-yard touchdown catch from Grady Martin in overtime was the difference. … Bo Messerle ran for 108 yards and three touchdowns to propel Coquille past Sutherlin 37-0. The Red Devils held the Bulldogs to 76 total yards. … Umatilla led 40-0 at half and coasted past McLoughlin 40-14 for its first victory. Aaron Villareal passed for three touchdowns. … La Pine recorded its first win under new coach Brandon Tirrill, edging Harrisburg 16-13. ... South Umpqua rebounded from back-to-back losses to set a school scoring record in beating St. Mary's 76-7. The Lancers scored 62 points in the first half, short of the state record of 69 (Dayton, 2002). Jacob Logan rushed for 172 yards and four touchdowns on 10 carries and Elijah Earls passed for three scores, two to Louden Cole (three catches, 130 yards).
2A
Easton Berry completed 10 of 13 passes for 295 yards and four touchdowns and ran for 85 yards to lead Weston-McEwen/Griswold past Grant Union 41-0. Bryson Choin had three catches for 111 yards and two scores for the TigerScots, who gained 476 yards. … Blanchet Catholic brushed aside Santiam 31-6, getting 171 yards on 20 carries from Phalen Arnold and two touchdown passes from Griffen Mucken. Holden Prine ran for 91 yards and two touchdowns on nine carries and caught three passes for 88 yards. … Happner topped Irrigon 52-14 behind Landon Mitchell, who completed 8 of 11 passes for 208 yards and five touchdowns, three to Mason Orem. Caden George rushed for 160 yards on 10 carries. Irrigon's Mason Harrison ran for 132 yards and two touchdowns on 12 carries. … Daniel Polk ran for two touchdowns and caught two scoring passes for Illinois Valley, which defeated Reedsport 48-0. … Willamina's Jacob Hadley carried 29 times for 231 yards and two touchdowns in a 36-8 win over Colton. Rhyne Nelson had five tackles for loss and Kai Mercer returned an interception 79 yards for a score. ...
Hunter Vaughn rushed for 190 yards and three touchdowns and caught a scoring pass as North Douglas/Yoncalla beat Glide 36-30 in overtime. Vaughn, who has rushed for 1,011 yards this season, scored on a seven-yard run in overtime. Glide forced overtime with a touchdown and two-point conversion with 28 seconds left. … Oakland held Rogue River to 58 yards to win 44-6. Brayden Webb rushed for 144 yards and two touchdowns on 10 carries and James Baimbridge caught two touchdown passes and ran for a score. … Jesus Arellano rushed for 130 yards and two touchdowns in Stanfield's 46-12 victory over Riverside. Israel Monkus had a touchdown catch and a fumble return for a score and Pablo Galindo threw for two touchdowns and ran for a score. … Gervais held off Culver 38-34 despite five touchdown passes from Houston Wittenburg. … Ayden Boursaw passed for two touchdowns and ran for two scores as Clatskanie led 41-0 at half and beat Neah-Kah-Nie 41-21. Price Martinez had three touchdown runs for Clatskanie.
1A-8
No. 1 Lost River won 48-28 at No. 2 Myrtle Point as Connor Dunlea rushed for 179 yards and three touchdowns on 20 carries, Kayden Hartman ran for 145 yards on 32 carries and Chase McAuliffe had two scoring runs. … James Standley had a touchdown catch and scored on an 87-yard kickoff return and interception return as Camas Valley opened a 36-0 halftime lead and dispatched Dufur 36-6. Owen Koegler had three sacks in the win. … Perrydale held Pilot Rock to fewer than 100 total yards in a 50-8 win. … Chase Bacus rushed for 269 yards and four touchdowns on 29 carries for Crosspoint Christian, which overpowered Bonanza 44-32. Kody Sparks passed for two touchdowns in the win. Bonanza got big games from Tristan McGann (21 carries, 226 yards, one touchdown) and Colby Medeiros (three touchdown passes). ... St. Paul blitzed Enterprise 40-0 as George Pohlschneider completed 9 of 10 passes for 244 yards and three touchdowns, two to Ralph Pohlschneider (four catches, 150 yards). Diego Medina rushed for 126 yards and two touchdowns on five carries. Enterprise's Ashtyn Irwin had 17 carries for 111 yards.
1A-6
Gavan Hinchberger rushed for 193 yards and two touchdowns on 20 carries and Parker Crowe threw two scoring passes to Tanner Hibbs for Alsea, which turned back Falls City 26-12. Crowe also stood out on defense with two interceptions, three tackles for loss and a fumble recovery. … Jayden McNall returned two interceptions for touchdowns in Joseph's 59-0 win over Jordan Valley. Kane Johnson passed for three scores, two to Jaxon Grover, and Jesse Larison ran for two touchdowns. … Elkton ran away from Riddle 47-13, getting four touchdown passes from Anthony Alimenti, who completed 18 of 31 passes for 294 yards. Tyler Pritchard ran for two touchdowns and caught a scoring pass and Jordyn Nederhood rushed for 99 yards and one touchdown on 12 carries. … Dylan Christian ran for two touchdowns for Prospect/Butte Falls, which built an 18-0 halftime lead and held on to defeat Days Creek 18-12. Wyatt Geiger threw two touchdown passes for Days Creek.
jerryu@osaa.org
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